Fabricated panel and method for producing same



Sept. 7, 1965 A. T. ZAHORSKI 3,204,667

FABRICATED PANEL AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING SAME Filed Jan. 22, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 *1 INVENTOR. J1 g l-P 19 40AM T ZAHORSK/ Sept. 7, 1965 A. T. ZAHORSKI FABRIGATED PANEL AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING SAME F'iled Jan. 22, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. 404M 2' ZAHO/ZS'K/ ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,204,667 FABRICATED PANEL AND METHOD FOR PRQDUCXNG SAME Adam T. Zahorski, 190 fipringer Road, Los Altos, Calif.

Filed Jan. 22, 1962, Ser. No. 167,784 r 9 Claims. (Cl. 138-148) This invention relates to structural fabricated panels and to a method of producing the same. The present invention relates particularly to curved fabricatedpanels and contemplates panels that form tubular structures that are. circular, oval, partly circular, or partly oval, i.e., arcuate.

An object of the invention is to provide a panel comprising separate opposed panel components each fabricatedof an outer sheet or skin and an inner corrugated core with the cores of each component including corrugations which may be of a variable pitch, but, in any case, are of a different pitch than the adjacent corrugations of the opposed core, whereby upon inter-nesting of the cores, the panel components cooperate to form a curved panel that may be arcuately or otherwise curved, depending on the variations in pitch.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel method for fabricating a panel as above contemplated, the method providing the steps of first fabricating the two panel components separably with their outer skins and cores in flat assembly and with the pitches of the corrugations of said cores varying according to the degree and character of curvature desired for the completed panel, and then assembling the panel components by inter-nesting the corrugations thereof to cause the assembled panel to assume a curvature that is a function of the mentioned pitch variations.

A further object of the invention is to provide a curved fabricated panel as characterized above in which the internested corrugations of the panel components retain the respective curvatures of the panel components, adhesive being interposed between said nested corrugations to retain the assembly of the components in the assembled curvature thereof.

This invention also has for its objects to provide a novel, economical and convenient method of assembly and a panel resulting therefrom, the panel offering structural integrity and being convenient in use, easily installed in working position and easily disconnected therefrom, economical of manufacture, relatively simple, and of general superiority and serviceability.

The invention also contemplates novel combinations of method steps as well as novel details of construction and novel combinations and arrangements of parts, which will appear more fully in the course of the following description, which is based on the accompanying drawings. However, said drawings merely show and the following description merely describes, the invention with respect to a preferred method and article, the, same, nevertheless, being given by way of illustration or example only.

In the drawings, like reference characters designate similar parts in the several views.

FIG. 1 is an end view of a circular panel structure according to the present invention, adhesive used therein being shown by single line due to the small scale of the view.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged and fragmentary end view of an outer panel component as used in the structure of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a similar view of an inner panel component as used in said structure.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary end View of a modified panel structure formed on a non-circular curvature, the view "Ice partly circular or partly oval.

The fabricated panel that is illustrated comprises, generally, an outer panel component 10, an inner panel component 11 inter-nested with the panel component 10, and adhesive means 12 (FIG. 5) to adhesively connect said components to form a curved panel structure as exemplified in FIGS. 1 and 5.

The panel component 10 comprises a skin or metal sheet 13 that is thin and flexible, and a core 14 formed of a similar metal sheet to have corrugations 15 defined by sloping sides 16 with apices 17 in contact with the inner surface of the skin 13 and apices 18 directed away from said skin. The corrugations, as represented by said apices, are arranged on a pitch P which is shown as a uniform pitch although the same may vary, particularly if the core 14- is not formed of uniform corrugations but of corrugations that vary in height, as suggested in FIG. 7.

The panel component 11 comprises a skin or metal sheet 19that is similar to the skin 13, and a core 20 which, similarly to the core 14, is formed to have corrugations 21 defined by sloping sides 22 with apices 23 in contactwith the inner surface of the skin 19 and apices 24 directed away from said skin. The corrugations 21 as represented by said apices, are arranged on a pitch P which is a uniform pitch, or pitches P261, P 1), P 0, etc., which are varying pitches, as will later be described. 1

It will be clear that the apices 17 of the core 14 and the apices 23 of the core 20 are fixedly connected to their respective skins 13 and 19 by welds, cement, or in other suitable ways.

The two panel components 10 and 11 thus provided are shown, in separated form, in FIGS. 2 and 3 and it will be seen that, in this form, the panel components are straight, i.e., the skins thereof are flat, but are capable of being flexed due to theirown flexibility as well as the flexibility of the respective corrugations 15 and 21. The ability of said panel components to flex is .in both directions. Thus, component 10 may be flexed so the skin 13 thereof is convexly curved around the core 14, and component 11 may be flexed so the skin 19 thereof may be concavely curved within the core 20.

It will be understood that the sloping sides 16 and 22 are of the same general extent between their respective apices and, individually, are capable of being placed in flatwise juxtaposed position so that an adhesive 12 may bond the same together. In the present case, the pitch P of component 10 and the pitches P or P a, P b and P 0 are different and it will be clear from a comparison of FIGS. 2 and 3 that, when the corrugations 15 and 21 are inter-nested while both components are straight, the respective corrugation sides 16 and 22 cannot achieve juxtaposed engagement. Only when said components are flexed to the curved conditions shown in FIGS. 1, 4, 5 and 7, can the respective core sides achieve flat juxtaposed engagement, the same being dependent on the relationship of the pitch P and the pitch P or pitches P a, P 1) and P c, as later herein described.

With particular reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 5, in which the components 10 and 11 are constructed so that when the cores 14 and 20 of said components are internested, said components combine to form a panel that is circular with the panel component 11 within the component 10. In such a structure, whether the skins 13 and 19 and the cores thereon are connected segments, or whether the ends of the panel components join along seams 25, there is a distinct relationship between the radii of skins 13 and 19 from the center of the structure and the respective pitches P and P Since the circumference of the skin 19 is less than that of the skin 13, it is evident that, for the corrugations to inter-nest as above discussed, the pitch P must be smaller than the pitch P Since the radii R and R of the respective outer and inner skins 13 and 19 are pre-determined and decided according to the outer and inner diameters of the completed panel and since the pitch P may be pre-selected with respect to the depth of the core 14, the pitch P may be found in the equation R1 Rz since pitch P is proportional to radius R in the same way that pitch P is proportional to radius R The following example will illustrate the application of the equation. If a ten-foot circular panel structure, with a one-inch thick panel with a selected pitch P of .125 feet is desired to be constructed, then the equation sets up as follows:

P1(.125 feGt) R1( -00 feet) R (4.917 feet) Therefore, X solves to .123 feet.

It is now a simple matter to separately construct component with the corrugations 15 thereof on a pitch P of .125 feet, and component 11 with the corrugations 21 thereof on a pitch P of .123 feet. Now, when the cores of said components are inter-nested, the same fit as in FIGS. 1 and 5, the fit being such that the components are no longer flexible but mutually braced to each other. In this manner, the panel structure achieves a rigidity that is independent of any adhesive applied between the juxtaposed sides 16 and 22, a true circular structure resulting, the same being substantially stronger and more resistant to distortion from its circular form than would ordinarily be achieved from use of such thin sheet elements 13, 14, 19 and 20 as used herein.

It will be clear that the above equation may be used in cases where the pitch P of the inner panel component is predetermined and the equation solved for P of the outer panel component.

FIG. 4 shows how the above may be modified to provide an oval panel structure which, accordingly, has a curved but non-circular form with the curvature varying from corrugation to corrugation.

Assuming a true ellipse is to be constructed, the outer panel component 10a may have its core with the corrugations thereof on a uniform pitch, as before. Since the respective radii (or approximations thereof) vary in an ellipse, the above described equation may be set up several times (each with different R and R components) to include one-quarter of the elliptical form, i.e., the perimeter between the long and short axes of the ellipse. Upon solution of said several equations, the different pitches P a, P b, P 0, etc., will be obtained and the inner panel component 11a may now be fabricated in flat form, as hereinabove described.

When components 10a and 11a are inter-nested, the elliptical curvature of FIG. 4 will result. This figure shows portions of the panel components in the process of being inter-nested.

In cases, as indicated in FIG. 7, where the thickness .of the panel varies, the core corrugations vary in depth,

accordingly. The same procedure of solving several equations may be followed with the added variation that the pitches of the outer component may vary in a predetermined manner. Where the corrugations are deeper the pitches P may be greater than where the corrugations are shallower. Therefore, as indicated in FIG. 7, the outer panel component 19b, whether circular or otherwise curved, may have its corrugations on varying pitches P a, P b, P 0, etc., and the corrugations of its inner panel component 11]; on varying pitches P 11, P 1), P 0, etc.

While the foregoing illustrates and describes what is now contemplated to be the best mode of carrying out the invention with respect to both the method and article, the same is, of course, subject to modification without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, it is not desired to restrict the invention to the particular method steps or combination or sequence of steps described, nor to the particular form of construction illustrated and described, but to cover all equivalents or modifications of method and article that may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A fabricated panel comprising (a) an outer panel component formed of a skin and a corrugated sheet core having opposed apices with the apices on one side connected to the skin, and

(b) an inner panel component formed of an inner skin and a corrugated sheet core having opposed apices with the apices on one side connected to the latter skin,

(c) the corrugations of the two cores being internested with the outer faces thereof in juxtaposition and adhesively bonded together,

(d) the pitch of the corrugations of the outer core being greater than the pitch of the corrugations of the inner core, and

(e) the skins being flexible and assuming respective degrees of curvatures when the corrugations are inter-nested that are in proportion to the difference in said pitches.

2. A fabricated panel according to claim 1 in which (a) the inter-nested panel components have their skins respectively convexly and concavely curved with respect to their respective cores.

3. A fabricated panel according to claim 1 in which (a) the inter-nested panel components have their skins respectively convexly and concavely curved with respect to their respective cores,

(b) the pitch of the core connected to the convex skin being greater than the other pitch.

4. A abricated panel according to claim 2 in which the two skins are parallel.

5. A fabricated panel according to claim 2 in which the two skins are parallel and are formed as concentric circular members.

6. A fabricated panel according to claim 2 in which the two skins are parallel and are formed as concentric elliptical members.

7. A fabricated panel according to claim 2 in which the pitch of the corrugations of the outer core is uniform and the pitch of the corrugations of the inner core is variable.

8. A fabricated panel according to claim 1 in which (a) the two skins thereof are concentric and circular,

and

(b) the pitches of the corrugations of the respective cores are proportioned according to the equation in which P is the pitch of the corrugations of one core, P the pitch of the corrugations of the other core, R the radius of the curvature of the skin connected to the core having the pitch P and R the radius of the curvature of the skin connected to the core having the pitch P 9. A fabricated panel comprising (a) an outer panel component formed of a skin and a corrugated sheet core having opposed apices with the apices on one side connected to the skin, and

(b) an inner panel component formed of an inner skin and a corrugated sheet core having opposed apices with the apices on one side connected to the latter skin,

(0) the skins of both components being flexible,

(d) the sheet core having flat sides that extend be tween opposed apices of the respective panel components,

(e) the corrugations of the two cores being internested with the outer faces of the flat sides thereof in juxtaposed relation,

(f) the pitch of the corrugations of the outer core being greater than the pitch of the corrugations of the inner core,

(g) the skins of the two panels assuming curved forms, upon inter-nesting of the corrugations thereof, according to the equation in which P is the pitch of the corrugations of one core, P is the pitch of the corrugations of the other core, R the radius of the curvature of the skin con nected to the core having the pitch P and R the radius of the curvature of the skin connected to the core having the pitch P and (h) a layer of adhesive bonding the juxtaposed corrugation sides to hold the panel components connected and the same curved, accordingly.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,032,789 7/12 Swift 161137 1,172,710 2/16 Howe 161-137 1,207,734 2/16 Feeley 161137 1,469,220 10/23 Kemp 154-45.9 1,842,736 1/32 Stout 15445.9 2,116,020 5/38 Gauvin 189-34 2,823,460 2/58 Weiler 16168 2,848,132 8/58 Davous 156-197 3,145,131 8/64 Finke 161-137 FOREIGN PATENTS 15,900 1890 Great Britain.

EARL M. BERGERT, Primary Examiner. 

1. A FABRICATED PANEL COMPRISING (A) AN OUTER PANEL COMPONENT FORMED OF A SKIN AND A CORRUGATED SHEET CORE HAVING OPPOSED APICES WITH THE APICES ON ONE SIDE CONNECTED T THE SKIN, AND (B) AN INNER PANEL COMPONENT FORMED OF AN INNER SKIN AND A CORRUGATED SHEET CORE HAVING OPPOSED APICES WITH THE APICES ON ONE SIDE CONNECTED TO THE LATTER SKIN, (C) THE CORRUGATIONS OF THE TWO CORES BEING INTERNESTED WITH THE OUTER FACES THEREOF IN JUXTAPOSITION AND ADHESIVELY BONDED TOGETHER, (D) THE PITCH OF THE CORRUGATIONS OF THE OUTER CORE BEING GREATER THAN THE PITCH OF THE CORRUGATIONS OF THE INNER CORE, AND (E) THE SKINS BEING FLEXIBLE AND ASSUMING RESPECTIVE DEGREES OF CURVATURES WHEN THE CORRUGATIONS ARE 